any outside aggressors and to begin the process of healing. Its effect on

our tissues usually involves pain, heat and redness. However, there are

some cases that this outward effect is not visible.

Inflammation is a double-edges sword; its effect can be helpful or harmful

depending on the circumstances. When an inflammation is in chronic state,

devastating consequences are likely to happen like arthritis, heart disease

or stroke. It usually happens when the cause of inflammation is continually

reintroduced or if the acute inflammatory response is not able to eliminate

it. This situation is very likely to happen nowadays because of our

exposure to implausible amounts of toxins.

Some of these toxins can be avoided like poor food choices, smoking, and

prolonged sun exposure. While some things arise from things from things we

don’t have control like genetics, accidents and pollution. Inasmuch as

there are factors you can’t help being exposed to unnecessary and harmful

factors detrimental to your good health, you can also take food supplements

effective in strengthening your body against the sometimes lethal effect of

inflammation. The most effective food supplement according to recent

studies happens to be fish oil.

The prevalence of destructive or chronic inflammation among Western

countries makes it imperative for many specialists to deal with preventive

measures. The reason behind this is that the Western population is more

exposed to stress, obesity and poor health in general. Many pharmacological

anti-inflammatory drugs offer reduction of inflammation, however, long-term

medication have potentially lethal side effects.

So what is your safest option if you have inflammation? Research on

alternative medicines revealed that certain dietary supplements can help

reduce levels of pro-inflammatory factors, with significantly lower side

effects. One of these dietary supplements is the essential fatty acids or

EFAs.

Essential fatty acids are necessary for various aspects of normal

physiology like: mediating immune response, regulating bodily secretions

and their viscosity, dilating and constricting blood vessels, regulating

collateral circulation, directing endocrine hormones to their target cells,

regulating smooth muscles and autonomic reflexes, being primary

constituents of cell membranes, regulating the rate of cell division,

maintaining the fluidity and rigidity of cellular membranes, regulating the

flow of substances into and out from cells, transporting oxygen from red

blood cells to the tissues, maintaining proper kidney function and fluid

balance, keeping saturated fats mobile in the bloodstream, preventing blood

clots, mediating the release of inflammatory eicosanoids that may trigger

allergic conditions, and regulating nerve transmission and communication.

(Source: Fish Oil: The Natural Anti-inflammatory by Joseph C. Maroon and

Jeffrey Bost, 2006, page 39).

For this reason, it is very important for over-all health to have a regular

intake of foods rich in omega-6 or omega-3 EFAs. The omega-3 pathway,

activated by trauma, injury, or chemical stimulus, is the process of

converting the omega-3 EFAs found in the cell membranes to various

eicosanoids. If the omega-3 EFA components of the cell membranes become

dominant, an anti-inflammatory state can result, with preventive health

benefits.

Fish oil is the best source of the omega-3 essential fatty acids. But why

fish oil, you might ask? The needed nutrients can also be found in green

plants; algae (phytoplankton); leaves and seeds of the perilla plants; and

linseed oil but fish oil is considered the most important dietary source of

omega-3 EFAs because it contains concentrated amounts of the ALA

derivatives with APA and DHA.

The two mentioned nutrients can almost exclusively found in seafood. Fish

contains high amount of EPA and DHA because they are at the top of food

chain based on algae, a single-marine organism that manufactures huge

amount of EPA and DHA.